Seasonic Platinum 1000W 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply Review

We take a look at Seasonic's highest wattage Platinum rated power supply and get some surprising results.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: Seasonic
7 minutes & 19 seconds read time

Introduction, Specifications, Availability and Pricing

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For those that aren't familiar with Seasonic (shame on you), they have been around longer than almost anyone in the power supply industry. Over the last 35 years, they have become synonymous for their high quality and efficient power supplies. Seasonic not only produces power supplies under their own name, but also acts as an OEM for a very large number of different manufacturers. Chances are that if you've had five or more power supplies throughout the years, one of them was built by Seasonic.

Today we are taking a look at a new offering from Seasonic. The power supply in question is the Platinum 1000W unit, claiming to offer up 1000W of power with 80 PLUS efficiency and silent operation up to 40% load to name a few of the highlights for this power supply. We've always had great results when testing Seasonic power supplies on our bench and always without issue so we're expecting great results with the Platinum 1000W as well.

That's enough talking for now so let's start looking at the features and specifications for the Platinum 1000W power supply.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

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As you can see from the I/O specifications for the Platinum 1000W unit, it features a massive single 12V rail design. The 12V rail is rated for 83A of power or 996W. Both the 3.3V and 5V rails are rated for 20A each and share a combined maximum load of 125W. The power supply also has a 5VSB rail that is rated for 3A or 15W. Total maximum combined output for the Seasonic Platinum 1000W power supply is 1000W.

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Seasonic is never one to skimp on features or quality and this list proves that to be true. Everything we check for is present including SCP, OVP, OCP, OPP and OTP. The power supply is fully modular and all cables are fully sleeved. Seasonic promises the Platinum 1000W power supply to be efficient enough to obtain 80 PLUS Platinum levels of efficiency and for it to run at 100% continuous out at 50C temperatures.

The Seasonic Platinum 1000W power supply has an MSRP of $259.99, making it one of the highest priced 1000W Platinum rated power supplies on the market. The unit is currently on sale at Newegg for $219.99 after $30 off and a $10 mail-in-rebate. That price makes the power supply much more attractive to the wallet and more closely priced against many units with lower efficiency. Seasonic covers the Platinum 1000W unit with an impressive seven year warranty.

Packaging

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Showing off the power supplies 80 PLUS Platinum level efficiency is certainly the entire theme of the packaging as the entire box of platinum in color, but there just isn't much to be gathered from the front of the packaging.

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Moving to the back, we again find that 80 PLUS Platinum is the whole theme as the 80 PLUS efficiency ratings are the first things that are explained on the back. Below this is some information about the DC Connector Panel which aids in efficiency even more.

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Over to the right of this is a little bit more about voltage regulation and the fan. Staying within 2% for voltage regulation isn't easy, but we've seen several units lately that were able to pull it off. After this we find out that the Platinum 1000W power supply utilizes a Sayno Denki San Ace fan to keep the unit cool. It is also important to note that the power supply doesn't turn the fan on till the unit is right around 50% load.

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Turning to the sides of the box, we find that one contains nothing more than a picture of the power supply. The other side contains all of the I/O specifications as well as a basic list of cables and connectors.

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The top is identical to the front with the exception of the added SLI certification logo and sans the image of the power supply. The bottom covers most of the features on the back, but in seven other languages.

Inside the Box

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Opening the box, we find that the power supply is surrounded in its entirety with a half inch of foam padding.

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The top is a blank slate for the Seasonic Platinum 1000W power supply.

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The reason the top is because the I/O specification label resides on one side of the power supply.

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The other side features the Seasonic Platinum logo.

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As you would expect, all the modular connectors are on the front of the unit. Three is also a switch present to tell the fan to always run or only turn on after the unit reaches 50% load.

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Looking at the back, we find the standard honeycomb mesh grill along with the AC input and on/off rocker switch.

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Seasonic uses a honeycomb mush grill to cover the 120mm Sanyo Denki fan cooling the power supply.

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All cables are fully sleeved with nylon mesh.

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Also included are the user manual, AC input cord, 10 cable ties, three Velcro cable ties, mini screwdriver, case badge and mounting screws.

Cabling Arrangement and A Look Inside

Cabling Arrangement

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Seasonic provided a very solid selection of cables and connectors for the fully modular Platinum 1000W power supply.

There are of course the obligatory 24-pin Main and ATX 4+4 connectors. PCI-E connections are handled via three cables, each with two connectors. The selection of peripheral cables is superb, offering both short and long variations of SATA and Molex connectors in case having just one length per type of cable would cause excess cabling inside the case. Also included is a Molex to FDD adapter in case you should need an FDD connector.

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Seasonic provides all of the 12V power for the Platinum 1000W power supply via a single 12V rail.

A Look Inside

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Opening things up, we find quite a bit of passive cooling going on, which contributes to the ability to run fanless up to half load.

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A trio of Nippon Chemi-Con capacitors reside on the primary side of the Seasonic Platinum 1000W power supply.

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More Nippon Chemi-Con capacitors are found on the secondary side as well.

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As advertised, Seasonic is using the 120mm San Ace fan from Sanyo Denki to provide the active cooling for the Platinum 1000W unit.

Test Results and Final Thoughts

Test Results

Our load tests utilize a couple of FAST ATE active load testers and a variety of other equipment such as an oscilloscope, power conditioner, temperature probe and a power consumption meter. You can read more about our standard testing approach here.

The tests performed are based around six conceivable setups that are out there and progressively load down the PSU up to the power supply's limits or 1000W, whichever comes first. Since our test equipment's limits are equal to that of the Seasonic Platinum 1000W power supply, we can test it to the maximum.

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The above tests represent typical loads that we have measured from various systems and are meant to give a rough idea of where your computer might fall in line with our tests. Please keep in mind that each system is different and actual loads can vary greatly even with similar hardware.

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Let's start by taking a look at the voltages to see how well this unit did during testing. Starting with the 12V1 rail, we see 1% regulation from start to finish with a total drop of .04V. The 5V rail managed to stay within 1% of specification as well with a total drop of .01V from start to finish. Moving towards the 3.3V rail, we see that regulation was within 2% of specification with a total voltage drop of .02V.

DC Output quality for the Platinum 1000W was good and well within specification. During Test 1, we saw 22mV of noise on our scope. When we increased the loads in Test 3, the ripple climbed to 34mV at a little under half load. During Test 6 under a load of 1000W, the oscilloscope showed a maximum of 49mv on noise on the 12V rail.

The Seasonic Platinum 1000Wis rated for 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency. This means that the power supply must perform at 90%/92%/89% efficiency at 20%/50%/100% loads respectively. As you can see, the Platinum 1000W passed on our bench and wasn't close to failing at any point.

The fan also performed just as Seasonic stated. The power supply operated in fanless mode until the power supply was at about 50% load then turned on. Once the fan was operational, it remained quiet and was not audible over the rest of the test equipment.

Final Thoughts

Seasonic knows how to design and build a power supply to please enthusiasts and the Platinum 1000W power supply from them is a testament to this. The unit boasts quality all the way around, starting with layout and component selection on the insides. This gives the unit a performance edge that very few units are able to achieve.

This would be regulating voltages to 2% or less. Our unit was right on par with the claims that voltages are managed within 2% of specification. The Platinum 1000W was incredibly close to having all rails within 1%, missing out by only .01V on the 3.3V rail. You practically can't ask for anything more out of the unit regarding voltage regulation.

The DC output quality is perhaps the worst thing about the Seasonic Platinum 1000W power supply and even it isn't something to complain about too much. Noise on the 12V rail was shown to be between 22mV and 49mV. This is still well within specifications, but we know that much better can be done. We've seen it on many units and we know that Seasonic can do better.

What will make this power supply attractive to most is how efficient the unit is. The efficiency of the Platinum 1000W power supply from Seasonic is perhaps the most important feature when it comes to marketing the unit as Seasonic flaunts it every chance they get. They are rightfully doing so as the unit boasts great efficiency numbers from start to finish.

Rounding things out is the price of the Platinum 1000W power supply. At an MSRP of $259.99, it's a bit pricey and many will turn elsewhere for cheaper units that perform nearly as well. The power supply at its sale price with the rebate makes it more enticing to pull the trigger on it over the competition, especially since very few others would back the unit by a very solid seven year warranty.

Put all of this together and you've got a very attractive package that is going to serve you well for many years to come. For those who are on a budget, this power supply might be a bit much, unless you can catch it on sale. For the rest who aren't worried about the price, you'll be hard pressed to find a better all-around package in a 1000W power supply.

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Zac provides professional IT support by day, but plays the role of enthusiast by night. He's been building high-end custom computer for the nearly fifteen years and writing PC hardware reviews for the better part of a decade. Aside from computers, he also dabbles in quite a bit of home A/V equipment. Throughout the years, Zac has picked up an extensive knowledge of power circuitry and leverages this to provide the PSU reviews. When not found testing or writing, you can often find him speeding through the winding countryside on his motorcycle.

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